Free Web Sites A Guide to Free Web Hosting Options

by YourOwnSite

Free Web Sites Overview

Free web pages can be easily obtained. It is possible to build and maintain a web site without having to purchase anything; no domain name registration fees, no monthly hosting fee, nothing. Free web hosting takes only minutes to sign up for and the free web pages can be updated with new or fresh information at any time.

Who Qualifies for Free Web Site Hosting?

Free web site hosting is best suited for any of these basic (as opposed to database driven or multimedia enhanced) websites:

Personal

Family

Special Occasions or Announcements

Hobbyist & Special Interest

Clubs, Organizations and Associations

Online Business Card

Any of these basic websites can be completely free. Online point and click tools and templates make it easy for anyone to design and develop a website in just minutes.

Also, some E-COMMERCE websites can be free. These can be updated with new or fresh product information at any time. However, they are not the ideal solutiuon for every small business – there are disadvantages. Go to our E-COMMERCE page for a complete analysis.

Disadvantages of free web sites and free web site hosting may include all, or some of the following:

You may want to create and upload your own site without being forced to use the online point and click tools provided by the free service.Solution: Search the directories for services that do allow you to upload your own stuff and forego their tools and templates.

You may want to edit the underlying HTML code in order to fine tune the meta tags for search engine recognition.Solution: Search the directories for services that do allow you to edit the underlying html.

You may want to use your own personally selected domain name (e.g., www.yourname.com) instead of a subdomain (e.g., www.freeservice.com/yourname/).Solution: Search the directories for services that allow you to use your own domain name as the site’s address. This will incur the cost of the domain name registration (see GoDaddy for best price).

Unreliable tech support.Solution: Ask ahead of time about the tech support situation. Despite claims, some hosting services are not very responsive. Search the directories for services that provide better tech support ratings.

Inability to move your website to another hosting service without a hassle particularly if the host’s online point and click templates were used to build the website.Solution: Ask ahead of time if this is going to be a problem.

Best Providers of Free Web Site Hosting

Experts Advice – Don’t use free web hosting. Be smart and pay a few dollars per month for reliable, good web hosting. See:

Special Free Web Site Hosting for Non-Profit Organizations

Steps Required
for a Free Web Hosting Web Site

The HOME page lists the seven (7) steps necessary for the successful creation and management of websites and these apply to free websites as well but with the following considerations:

Step 1 – Design

If you are using point and click tools provided by a free web hosting provider then you can skip this step because your choices are limited to the appearances of the various templates that are being offered.

Step 2 – Requirements Analysis

If you are using point and click tools provided by a free web hosting provider then you can skip this step.

Step 3 – Domain Name

If you are satisfied with the use of a subdomain name which is provided for free by most free web hosting providers (see Domain Names) then you can skip this step.